Philip Lamantia, the blazing San Francisco poet whose embrace ofSurrealism and the free flow of the imagination had a major influenceon the Beats and many other American poets, died Monday of heartfailure at his North Beach apartment. He was 77.

A San Francisco native born to Sicilian immigrants, Mr. Lamantia was awidely read, largely self-taught literary prodigy whose visionary poems-- ecstatic, terror-filled, erotic -- explored the subconscious worldof dreams and linked it to the experience of daily life.

"Philip was a visionary like Blake, and he really saw the whole worldin a grain of sand,'' said poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, whose CityLights Books published four of Mr. Lamantia's nine books from 1967 to1997.

"He was the primary transmitter of French Surrealist poetry in thiscountry,'' said Ferlinghetti, who first met Mr. Lamantia here in theearly 1950s. "He was writing stream-of-consciousness Surrealist poetry,and he had a huge influence on Allen Ginsberg. Before that, Ginsbergwas writing rather conventional poetry. It was Philip who turned him onto Surrealist writing. Then Ginsberg wrote 'Howl.' "

That epochal poem made Ginsberg's name and set off a revolution inAmerican poetry and culture. Ginsberg first read it aloud at SanFrancisco's Six Gallery on Oct. 13, 1955. The other four poets on thebill that night were Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen andMr. Lamantia.

Rather than reading his own works -- his first book, "Erotic Poems,''had been published in 1946 -- Mr. Lamantia read the prose poems of hisfriend John Hoffman, who had recently died in Mexico.

"Philip was one of the most beautiful poets I've ever known. He was apoet of the imagination,'' said McClure, who lives in Oakland. "He washighly original -- I'd call his poetry hyper-personal visionarySurrealism -- and he was thrilling to be around. Everybody would sitaround and listen to him all night. The flow of his imagination was abeautiful thing. ''

A man of ecstatic highs and deep, deep lows, Mr. Lamantia suffered fromdepression, friends said, and had become a recluse in recent years,rarely leaving home.

But in his younger days, he was a dashing figure who conversedbrilliantly on a wide range of subjects. An omnivorous reader, hedelved into astronomy, philosophy, history, jazz, painting,ornithology, Egyptology and many other subjects that informed hisexpansive vision.

"He was very handsome, like a real Adonis,'' Ferlinghetti said. "He wasa brilliant talker, a nonstop associative talker like Robert Duncan(the late San Francisco poet with whom Mr. Lamantia was associated onthe pre-Beat San Francisco poetry scene of the late 1940s and early'50s). "He would talk in a continuous stream. One word would set himoff in one direction, and another word would get him on another trip.He was a real polymath. And he had an encyclopedic memory.''

Born in San Francisco's Excelsior District, Mr. Lamantia worked as aboy in the old produce market on the Embarcadero, where hisSicilian-born father was a produce broker. He began writing poetry inelementary school and fell under the spell of Surrealism after seeingthe paintings of Miro and Dali at the old San Francisco Museum of Arton Van Ness Avenue.

He started reading the poetry of Andre Breton, the so-called pope ofSurrealism, and other writers in the movement. In 1943, when he was 15,some of Mr. Lamantia's poems were published in View, aSurrealist-leaning New York magazine. Breton gave the young poet hisblessings, describing him as "a voice that rises once in a hundredyears.''

Some months later, Mr. Lamantia dropped out of Balboa High School andmoved to New York City, where he lived for several years. He associatedwith Breton and other exiled European artists such as Max Ernst andYves Tanguy, and he worked as an assistant editor of View.

Returning to San Francisco after World War II, Mr. Lamantia tookcourses at UC Berkeley in medieval studies, English poetry and othersubjects while continuing to write and publish poetry. In 1949, hebegan traveling the world, staying for extended periods in Mexico,Morocco and Europe.

Coming back to the United States every few years, Mr. Lamantia becamepart of the underground culture blossoming on the east and west coasts.Like other poets who felt estranged from mainstream culture in theatomic age, "he found in the narcotic night world a kind of moderncounterpart to the gothic castle -- a zone of peril to be symbolicallyor existentially crossed,'' wrote Nancy Peters, who later married Mr.Lamantia in 1978 and edited some of his books for City Lights. "Theapocalyptic voice of 'Destroyed Works' is witness to that experience.''

Published in '62 by Auerhahn Press, "Destroyed Works'' was Mr.Lamantia's fourth book. The San Francisco house had also published thepoet's two previous collections, "Narcotica'' and "Ekstasis,''both in 1959.

Ever searching to expand his vision, Mr. Lamantia spent time withnative peoples in the United States and Mexico in the '50s,participating in the peyote-eating rituals of the Washoe Indians ofNevada. The poet, who taught for a time at San Francisco State and theSan Francisco Art Institute, also embraced Catholicism. In later yearshe attended the Shrine of St. Francis in North Beach.

"He had a vision of the world that was completely unique,'' saidPeters, who later separated from Mr. Lamantia, but they remained goodfriends. She edited three of his books for City Lights, "BecomingVisible" (1981), "Meadowlark West" (1986) and "Bed of Sphinxes: New andSelected Poems, 1943- 1993.''

Andrei Codrescu, a poet and NPR commentator who knew Mr. Lamantia well,called him "one of the great voices of our subconscious for the last 50years.

"He was a very pure poet in the sense that he was one of the very fewAmerican poets who continued to pursue the Surrealist investigation ofdreams and the unconscious -- and he connected those explorations tocivic American life.''

We seem to be losing great people in droves, lately. Sad. Thanks forposting this, Marcus.

Post by m***@myrealbox.comPhilip Lamantia -- S.F. Surrealist poetPhilip Lamantia, the blazing San Francisco poet whose embrace ofSurrealism and the free flow of the imagination had a major influenceon the Beats and many other American poets, died Monday of heartfailure at his North Beach apartment. He was 77.

I met Philip Lamantia is the apartment of Anne Murphy on Kearney Street,September 1972. He was the Upstairs Poet. He came down to us. We sat in acircle and talked about Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti. Only recently had hereturned to San Francisco from France.

Ever after, I always replayed that time. Pensées d'escalier. I wish I hadknown more, about Surrealist poetry, about the Six Gallery reading. Iwished I was better prepared. I was better prepared for the next time,which now won't be. They never are.

Post by m***@myrealbox.comPhilip Lamantia -- S.F. Surrealist poetVisionary verse of literary prodigy influenced Beats- Jesse Hamlin, Chronicle Staff WriterFriday, March 11, 2005Philip Lamantia, the blazing San Francisco poet whose embrace ofSurrealism and the free flow of the imagination had a major influenceon the Beats and many other American poets, died Monday of heartfailure at his North Beach apartment. He was 77.A San Francisco native born to Sicilian immigrants, Mr. Lamantia was awidely read, largely self-taught literary prodigy whose visionary poems-- ecstatic, terror-filled, erotic -- explored the subconscious worldof dreams and linked it to the experience of daily life."Philip was a visionary like Blake, and he really saw the whole worldin a grain of sand,'' said poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, whose CityLights Books published four of Mr. Lamantia's nine books from 1967 to1997."He was the primary transmitter of French Surrealist poetry in thiscountry,'' said Ferlinghetti, who first met Mr. Lamantia here in theearly 1950s. "He was writing stream-of-consciousness Surrealist poetry,and he had a huge influence on Allen Ginsberg. Before that, Ginsbergwas writing rather conventional poetry. It was Philip who turned him onto Surrealist writing. Then Ginsberg wrote 'Howl.' "That epochal poem made Ginsberg's name and set off a revolution inAmerican poetry and culture. Ginsberg first read it aloud at SanFrancisco's Six Gallery on Oct. 13, 1955. The other four poets on thebill that night were Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen andMr. Lamantia.Rather than reading his own works -- his first book, "Erotic Poems,''had been published in 1946 -- Mr. Lamantia read the prose poems of hisfriend John Hoffman, who had recently died in Mexico."Philip was one of the most beautiful poets I've ever known. He was apoet of the imagination,'' said McClure, who lives in Oakland. "He washighly original -- I'd call his poetry hyper-personal visionarySurrealism -- and he was thrilling to be around. Everybody would sitaround and listen to him all night. The flow of his imagination was abeautiful thing. ''A man of ecstatic highs and deep, deep lows, Mr. Lamantia suffered fromdepression, friends said, and had become a recluse in recent years,rarely leaving home.But in his younger days, he was a dashing figure who conversedbrilliantly on a wide range of subjects. An omnivorous reader, hedelved into astronomy, philosophy, history, jazz, painting,ornithology, Egyptology and many other subjects that informed hisexpansive vision."He was very handsome, like a real Adonis,'' Ferlinghetti said. "He wasa brilliant talker, a nonstop associative talker like Robert Duncan(the late San Francisco poet with whom Mr. Lamantia was associated onthe pre-Beat San Francisco poetry scene of the late 1940s and early'50s). "He would talk in a continuous stream. One word would set himoff in one direction, and another word would get him on another trip.He was a real polymath. And he had an encyclopedic memory.''Born in San Francisco's Excelsior District, Mr. Lamantia worked as aboy in the old produce market on the Embarcadero, where hisSicilian-born father was a produce broker. He began writing poetry inelementary school and fell under the spell of Surrealism after seeingthe paintings of Miro and Dali at the old San Francisco Museum of Arton Van Ness Avenue.He started reading the poetry of Andre Breton, the so-called pope ofSurrealism, and other writers in the movement. In 1943, when he was 15,some of Mr. Lamantia's poems were published in View, aSurrealist-leaning New York magazine. Breton gave the young poet hisblessings, describing him as "a voice that rises once in a hundredyears.''Some months later, Mr. Lamantia dropped out of Balboa High School andmoved to New York City, where he lived for several years. He associatedwith Breton and other exiled European artists such as Max Ernst andYves Tanguy, and he worked as an assistant editor of View.Returning to San Francisco after World War II, Mr. Lamantia tookcourses at UC Berkeley in medieval studies, English poetry and othersubjects while continuing to write and publish poetry. In 1949, hebegan traveling the world, staying for extended periods in Mexico,Morocco and Europe.Coming back to the United States every few years, Mr. Lamantia becamepart of the underground culture blossoming on the east and west coasts.Like other poets who felt estranged from mainstream culture in theatomic age, "he found in the narcotic night world a kind of moderncounterpart to the gothic castle -- a zone of peril to be symbolicallyor existentially crossed,'' wrote Nancy Peters, who later married Mr.Lamantia in 1978 and edited some of his books for City Lights. "Theapocalyptic voice of 'Destroyed Works' is witness to that experience.''Published in '62 by Auerhahn Press, "Destroyed Works'' was Mr.Lamantia's fourth book. The San Francisco house had also published thepoet's two previous collections, "Narcotica'' and "Ekstasis,''both in 1959.Ever searching to expand his vision, Mr. Lamantia spent time withnative peoples in the United States and Mexico in the '50s,participating in the peyote-eating rituals of the Washoe Indians ofNevada. The poet, who taught for a time at San Francisco State and theSan Francisco Art Institute, also embraced Catholicism. In later yearshe attended the Shrine of St. Francis in North Beach."He had a vision of the world that was completely unique,'' saidPeters, who later separated from Mr. Lamantia, but they remained goodfriends. She edited three of his books for City Lights, "BecomingVisible" (1981), "Meadowlark West" (1986) and "Bed of Sphinxes: New andSelected Poems, 1943- 1993.''Andrei Codrescu, a poet and NPR commentator who knew Mr. Lamantia well,called him "one of the great voices of our subconscious for the last 50years."He was a very pure poet in the sense that he was one of the very fewAmerican poets who continued to pursue the Surrealist investigation ofdreams and the unconscious -- and he connected those explorations tocivic American life.''A memorial is pending.